Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

"Never Played an RPG Before? Start Here!"

As you can probably tell by the title, this game is my first real foray into the immensely popular RPG genre. It is obviously quite a change of pace from what I am used to; notably the Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear, and Resident Evil series of games; but it is certainly not a bad detour. I hope that this review will assist individuals who may be in a similar situation now that I was in about a month ago: a desire to explore the RPG genre, but unsure of how to do so or where to begin. I was told that the most popular titles (such as the Final Fantasy series) are not a good jumping-off point: they are too difficult and hard to understand for first time RPGers. This game bridges that gap by not only being an intro to the RPG style, but by retaining some of the action and adventure game characteristics (active fighting).
I actually was referred to this game on a GTA message board (see- they are good for something!) as being a great transitional title to introduce the very different style of play common in RPGs as opposed to other genres of games. Having just about wrapped up the main storyline, I can honestly agree that the switch was made much easier due to Star Ocean 3's active battlemode gameplay (which is apparently very uncommon to RPG titles), and while the game is certainly not flawless, I am having a great time playing it; and while I don't think it will join my all time faves (of which there are very few), it certainly appears to make the transition into typical turn-based games that much easier.

Story: The main character in this game is Fayt Leingod, a 19 year old on vacation with his parents on a resort planet in the distant future. While there, a nasty alien attack results in mass destruction as well as the apparent capture of his parents and cousin (Sofia). Fayt soon finds himself stranded on a distant planet whose civilization is hundreds of years less advanced that Earth's- the game has a distinctly medieval theme and feel to it. As the game progresses and Fayt's character develops, the story becomes clearer and we learn that the alien attack was far from random, and that Fayt is not the normal boy he considers himself to be. I actually found the story to be pretty neat at times: the developers kept me guessing, and when explanations were given, they generally left me with a sort of ‘aha' type of reaction. There was also a quite unexpected plot twist later on in the game that really changed my perspective.
Score: 9/10

Sound: I found much of the music in this game to be catchy and not at all annoying; with each area having a different theme to it. The royal city of Aquios has a very regal sounding melody that plays while within the city walls, while the village of Surferio has a light-hearted track that I found myself humming along to. The music is pretty understated (it really is background music), which is good- it doesn't overpower the story. The voice acting matches up well, and the actors seem neither over-the-top nor uninterested (or over-scripted). The only negative I can list here is post-battle. After an enemy is defeated, the member of the party who landed the killing blow will utter a little catchphrase while the game displays the experience points and money (fol) gained from the battle. It can get very repetitive and annoying (esp. Cliff's: ‘Moron! Know your enemy before striking the first blow!').
Score: 8/10

Graphics: I would describe the graphics of the game as very manga-like: the characters are cartoons with large eyes, and at first I felt that it would be hard to take the game seriously because of that- remember that I am used to more realism as far as appearances go. In retrospect (and as I continue to play), I got over that initial bump pretty quickly and really have no problem with the graphics. The enemies are varied: some are cute little blobs, others are nasty axe-wielding monsters, and prepare to be blown away at first sight of Crossell- he's huge! The villages are relatively well detailed, but I found the areas between villages (where most of the battle occur) to be pretty plain and uninteresting in appearance. The many cinematic scenes are done well, but I've seen better. The in-game map is pretty useful as well. It has two views: small view will show the surrounding areas (and the enemies nearby), and the larger view will (of course) show a much larger radius- although it won't show any further-off enemies (special item pickups in the game will do that as well as allow you to see treasure chests).
Score: 7/10

Gameplay: Herein lies what differentiates SO3 from Final Fantasy and most other RPG titles and series. Rather than the usual turn-based mode where members of a party strike a blow on an enemy (who then counterattacks), the battles here are interactive. This means that while in battle, the characters are constantly attacking and counterattacking each other. As the game player, you can make your character (default is Fayt) run around the enemy, stay back and heal, cast magic (here called symbology), or engage in contact. There is a neat trick called a Cancel Bonus to learn that allows multiple hit combos for increasing levels of damage to be strung together. More common elements to RPGs are found here as well- buying supplies, talking to anyone and everyone, and (of course) leveling up. I found the controls for battle were pretty intuitive and not too difficult to master. It seems like symbology is much more for show than effect- it looks cool while doing it, but rarely delivers the amount of damage desired. There are awards to be gained for visiting every corner of an area (completing 100% of the map, since the map is filled in as you are traversing the area for the first time). Completing a map ranges from pretty easy to extremely frustrating, and on more than one occasion I found myself going over the same areas again trying to see if there was a little spot I missed. Additionally, there are several puzzles (notably the Aquatic Gardens near Surferio and the Haulers in the mines) that again range from simple to challenging, but add to the originality of the game.
Score: 9/10

Challenge: Note while you read this that while I am just about to complete the game, but there are many other postgame challenges that I have not been exposed to as yet. From reading ahead in some of the FAQS on this site, I have gathered that once the main storyline mission is complete, the game gets really difficult- there are new dungeons and a tower with exceedingly hard enemies contained therein. My opinion and score here, however, are based solely on the main storyline of the game. Overall, I am a bit ambivalent about this facet of Star Ocean 3. I have been surprised by the most part of how easy most of the battles have been (exception so far is Crossell, who is a bad dude). I have made it through most of the game living off berries (inexpensive items that restore small percentages of HP) rather than the special items that restore larger percentages- I am hoarding those for the tougher bosses after the game. There are ways to toughen the game up a bit, and chief among those is collecting battle trophies. Generally, you can win two battle trophies from each main boss: one by beating him in under a minute (in which you Cancel Bonus the guy to death), and the other by beating him without your controllable character (default Fayt) taking any damage- this is usually accomplished by letting the other members of the party do the dirty work while you sit back and heal them as needed. I have not been collecting the trophies as I have progressed (because it is my first time through and I'd rather not worry about them at this point). So, to sum up, the battles are not too difficult, and the puzzles so far are manageable. My unqualified score is a 6/10 but keep in mind that I have not been involved in the postgame fireworks yet.
Score: 6/10.

Replay Value: While I technically haven't finished the game yet, I can say that I feel that Star Ocean 3 will offer good replay value. I can easily see myself taking another run through the game to collect the Battle Trophies and complete the various sidequests that I skipped past (inadvertently): Ruddle and Rumina, Roger Huxley's treasure hunt, and a few others. I have not mentioned the invention part of the game either. Fayt and the others can learn to invent various items (weapons, food products, armor, etc) that can be used or sold for a profit. A large part of the inventing skill is recruiting NPCs to assist in making items- and will of course take money and or patience. From what I hear, the bosses in the Sphere and other post game areas are so difficult that it can be impossible to progress without improving weapons and armor with invented products. Keeping all of the above in mind, there should be no real problem finding enough to do on the second run through.
Score: 8/10

Overall: As I mentioned earlier; I really like this game (not love). It is fun, the storyline is fascinating yet unique, and the battle sequences allows the non-RPG side of me to have fun as well- doing battle, running around, etc. I wanted this game to function as a springboard for me into the RPG genre (or to convince me to stick with Grand Theft Auto in the event I hated SO3 and no longer wanted to try RPGs), and Star Ocean 3 certainly accomplished that for me. There were some fun parts and some boring parts (leveling up, some long cinematic scenes), and I would rate this to be a good game all around, and certainly worth the time of anyone considering it. While not wanting to describe it in any way as mediocre, I feel that it does everything well, nothing excellently, and nothing poorly, and thus am comfortable giving it a thumbs up recommendation as well as a final score of:
Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/30/06